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Born in Cascavel, Belletti started his career playing as a central midfielder in Brazil for the youth team of Cruzeiro in 1992. His professional debut happened in November 1994. In March 1996, he was involved in a deal that sent him and Serginho to São Paulo FC in exchange for five players: Aílton, Donizete, Gilmar, Palhinha and Vítor. Playing for São Paulo, he eventually became a right-back.

In 1999, he was loaned to Atlético Mineiro. Playing as an attacking-midfielder, Belletti helped the club to finish second in the Brazilian League and managed to win the Bola de Prata ("Silver Ball"), an award handed by Placar magazine to the players nominated to the Brazilian League Squad of the Year.

After returning to São Paulo, he became a regular in the Brazilian national team by playing in the right-back position once again. Rumours linked him with a move to La Liga side Valencia in 2001, but the move fell apart at the last minute.[citation needed] In 2002, he finally moved to Europe with Villarreal. In 2004, after a successful spell at Villarreal, he signed for Barcelona where he became the first-choice right back and a key set-piece taker in the squad.

After winning the Liga title in his first season, Belletti gradually fell out of favour both in Barcelona and in the national team. From being a regular in the 2004–05 season, he faced tough competition from fellow right-back Oleguer and spent his second season in-and-out of the first team.

On 23 August 2007, Chelsea officially announced that Belletti had signed a three-year contract after the player agreed personal terms and passed a medical.[4] He made his Premier League debut on 25 August when he came on as a substitute for John Obi Mikel in the 64th minute of their home game against Portsmouth, a 4–0 victory.[5]

Belletti playing for Chelsea.

He made his first start for Chelsea against Aston Villa away at Villa Park. Despite a strong debut, Chelsea lost the game 2–0. Following the departure of José Mourinho, Belletti became a regular starter in the right-back position for Premier League, Champions League, and League Cup games, facing competition from Paulo Ferreira and Michael Essien for his place in the team. In his first season at Chelsea, Belletti scored two goals, both shots from long-range, the first away at Wigan Athletic in November 2007 and the second at Stamford Bridge against Tottenham Hotspur in January 2008. The latter was eventually voted by Chelsea supporters as "Chelsea Goal of the Season" in 2007–08.

A year later, in January 2010, Belletti was linked with a move to Flamengo in his native Brazil, but the Blues rejected their offer.[9] In Chelsea's game against Preston North End in the FA Cup fourth round, Belletti hobbled off the ground with a knee injury just 20 minutes in and was replaced by Florent Malouda. On 27 February 2010, Belletti was sent off for a professional foul on Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry to concede a penalty, a match City won 4–2 at Stamford Bridge. Belletti came on as a substitute in the final game of the 2009–10 Premier League season, where a Chelsea win ensured they won the title. A week later, Belletti came on as a substitute for the injured Michael Ballack in the 2010 FA Cup Final against Portsmouth. Despite committing a foul which that gave Portsmouth a penalty, Belletti was ultimately on the winning team as Chelsea won 1–0.

On 9 June 2010, Chelsea announced that Belletti was one of three players whose contract would not be renewed upon their expiry in the summer, meaning that Belletti leaves Chelsea on a free transfer. He left Chelsea with a Premier League winners medal, two FA Cup winners medals and was considered a cult hero by Chelsea supporters for his long range goals and excellent work rate. He made a total of 94 appearances, scoring five goals.

On 15 June 2011, Belletti signed a one-year contract with Ceará[11] but just 12 days later, on 27 June, announced his retirement via Twitter.[12] He confessed that he had failed to recover from a serious Achilles tendon injury.

Belletti was called up for the first time in 1995 by then-head coach Zagallo to play for the Brazilian national team. However, his debut would only come in 2001, becoming the second choice for the right-back position behind Cafu.